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The Money Overview

Personal Finance

Day-to-day money decisions for individuals and households. Practical guidance on budgeting, saving, spending, credit, debt management, and financial planning.

Latest in Personal Finance

Budgeting & Saving

Maryland’s energy aid plan pays up to $1,325 for heating this year and up to $600 in winter crisis help from Nov. 1, with adults 60 and older a priority

Maryland’s energy assistance plan for the federal 2027 fiscal year sets heating benefits between $25 and $1,325 and winter crisis help of up to $600,...

Insurance & Protection

Washington State Farm customers whose cars were repaired under underinsured-motorist coverage since 2019 can claim from a settlement fund of up to $8.8 million by Dec. 14

State Farm customers in Washington whose cars were repaired after an accident, with the bill paid under underinsured motorist property damage coverage, have until Dec....

Budgeting & Saving

NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota Utilities customers 62 and older are shielded from winter shutoffs Nov. 1 to April 1, but only if they tell the utility they qualify

Montana’s winter shutoff moratorium starts Nov. 1 and runs to April 1, and regulated gas and electric companies cannot cut off a household for unpaid...

Budgeting & Saving

Michigan seniors 65 and older are shielded from utility shutoffs November 1 through March 31

Michigan customers who are 65 or older are protected from utility shutoffs from November 1 through March 31, the state’s heating season. The Commission lists...

Budgeting & Saving

Minnesota’s Cold Weather Rule bars gas and electric shutoffs through April 30 for residential customers, renters included, who set up and keep a payment plan

Minnesota utilities cannot cut off gas or electric heat between October 1 and April 30 for residential customers who set up a payment plan and...

Insurance & Protection

Current and former Seattle and Federal Way Public Schools employees hit by the Carruth data breach can claim up to $599 in cash by December 2

Current and former employees of Seattle Public Schools and Federal Way Public Schools have until December 2, 2026, to file a claim in a settlement...

Budgeting & Saving

Colorado opens LEAP winter heating aid applications November 1, and a person living alone can qualify with gross income up to $3,774 a month

Colorado will start taking applications for its Low-income Energy Assistance Program, known as LEAP, on November 1, 2026. A person living alone can qualify with...

Insurance & Protection

GoodRx users who used its app before April 2024 can file by December 29

People who used GoodRx before April 2024 have until December 29, 2026, to file a claim in a $32 million privacy settlement. GoodRx Holdings and...

Credit & Debt

Student loan borrowers still in SAVE are getting final 30-day notices from the Trump administration before being moved automatically into a fixed payment plan

Student loan borrowers who are still in the SAVE plan are now getting a final 30-day notice from their servicers, the last warning before the...

Smart Spending

Dollar General agreed to donate $1.875 million in food and goods to settle New York’s price case, after secret shoppers were overcharged on about 14% of items

New York’s attorney general says Dollar General regularly charged shoppers more at the register than the price posted on the shelf. To settle the state’s...

Smart Spending

Michigan regulators approved a $139.2 million yearly gas rate increase for Consumers Energy, far below the $240 million it sought

The Michigan Public Service Commission has approved a $139.2 million yearly natural gas rate increase for Consumers Energy, well below the $240 million the utility...

Smart Spending

The Energy Information Administration projects 2027 household electricity at 18.7 cents a kilowatt-hour

The Energy Information Administration projects that the average U.S. household will pay 18.7 cents a kilowatt-hour for electricity in 2027. That would be up from...

Smart Spending

Ground beef averaged $6.792 a pound in September, up from $6.323 a year earlier

Ground beef averaged $6.792 a pound across the United States in September, up from $6.323 in September 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. That...

Smart Spending

Drivers paid an average $4.631 for a gallon of gasoline in September, against $3.481 a year earlier, BLS average price data show

Drivers paid an average of $4.631 a gallon for gasoline in September, up from $3.481 a year earlier. That is $1.15 more per gallon, an...

Smart Spending

Heating oil hit $6.27 a gallon in New York and $6.15 in Massachusetts heading into winter, energy assistance directors say

Heating oil reached $6.27 a gallon in New York and $6.15 in Massachusetts as the winter heating season approached, according to the nation’s energy assistance...

Budgeting & Saving

Pennsylvania Treasury auctions about 6,000 unclaimed property items on October 28

Pennsylvania Treasury will sell about 6,000 pieces of abandoned property, including jewelry, coins, currency and precious metals, at an online auction on Wednesday, October 28....

Smart Spending

myVEGAS and Pop! Slots players who spent money in six states get game coins unless they elect cash by October 21

Players of myVEGAS and Pop! Slots who spent money in six states will be paid in game coins unless they ask for cash by October...

Smart Spending

Illinois users of the Skin360 skin-assessment tool can claim a share of Johnson & Johnson Consumer’s $4.7 million biometric privacy settlement by November 25

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. has agreed to pay $4.7 million to settle claims under Illinois’ biometric privacy law over its Skin360 skin-assessment tool, and...

Smart Spending

Levoit air-purifier buyers have until Nov. 3 to file for up to $10 from a $15 million ‘True HEPA’ settlement

Buyers of Levoit Core and EverestAir air purifiers and replacement filters have until Nov. 3 to file for a $10 digital payment from a settlement...

Budgeting & Saving

Propane-heated homes will spend about $1,246 this winter, the Energy Department projects

Households that heat with propane are projected to spend about $1,246 this winter, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the Energy Department’s statistics arm, said in...

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